


the road that leads me here to you

by lizardwriter



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: AU, F/F, bartender dani
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:42:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28837986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizardwriter/pseuds/lizardwriter
Summary: Jamie is travelling. She doesn't really have a plan, especially not one that includes attractive bartenders when she stops in for a drink on night, and yet...Sometimes life has other plans.
Relationships: Dani Clayton & Jamie, Dani Clayton/Jamie
Comments: 16
Kudos: 188





	the road that leads me here to you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [blake0tyler](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blake0tyler/gifts).



> Just a short oneshot. Happy birthday blake0tyler! I hope you have a wonderful day!   
> xx

Just one drink. What could it hurt? 

She knows the answer, of course. One drink can devastate, if it’s the right one at the wrong time in the wrong place. 

She’s come a long way to escape that. 

But this pub is quiet. This whole town is quiet. Middle of nowhere USA. The front window is a blaring display of neon signs, but the inside is dim and apart from a few old men huddled around a TV showing baseball towards the back, it’s fairly empty. It’s a weekday night and it’s late. She’ll be lucky if the kitchen is still open, but the truth is the beer is what she wants. 

There’s no one behind the bar, no welcome committee when she walks in, and she appreciates it in sharp contrast to seemingly every store she walks into in this country. It’s nice to go unnoticed for a change. 

She settles at a small round table near the front, shaking off her jacket that the settling snow has made damp. She hadn’t expected to still be in this country for winter, yet here she is. Maybe she’ll head north in the spring, go up through Canada, take in Vancouver. That seems like a cool city: one big enough to get lost in. 

And then there’s a sudden burst of noise as a woman pushes through the doors to the back, calling over her shoulder as she does so. “Yeah, yeah, Eddie! Take a number!” 

The woman, the bartender/waitress/whatever, doesn’t notice her. Instead she takes a heaping bowl of chips - french fries, Jamie corrects herself - over to the group of men. 

“There you go boys. Anyone need a refill?” 

Her voice is painfully American, but that’s the only painful thing about her. To say she’s easy on the eyes would be an understatement. 

Still unnoticed, Jamie allows herself to look. There’s no harm in looking, after all. She traces over soft curves hidden beneath tight jeans, small breasts beneath a black v-neck t-shirt, flowing blonde hair, a sharp jaw, high cheekbones, rosy lips, and —

Stunning blue eyes, now looking back at her. 

“Fuck,” she murmurs under her breath, feeling her cheeks flush at being caught. 

The woman wanders over, a smile plastered on her face that doesn’t quite reach those beautiful eyes. “Hi! Sorry, you must’ve slipped in while I was in the back. Can I get you anything?” 

Jamie clears her throat, scans the taps along the bar. “Just a pint of Sam Adams, please,” she requests. 

“Sure thing, and did you want to start a tab?” 

Jamie pulls out a twenty dollar bill and hands it over. “No, thanks.” 

The woman nods, takes the money and wanders away, back behind the bar. 

Jamie can’t help it if her eyes trail after her. 

She’s back quickly with her pint, just about spilling over the brim. 

“Here you go,” the woman says as she places the drink on the table. “And here’s your change.” 

Her fingers are warm when they brush Jamie’s. Hot, even. The coldness of Jamie’s own fingers feels amplified by contrast and for a split second Jamie has to fight the urge to take her hand, to lace their fingers together until the temperatures of both even out. 

“Thank you,” Jamie murmurs. 

“You’re not from here, are you?” the woman asks, putting a hand on her hip and cocking her head to the side, genuine curiosity etched in her eyes. 

“Ah, no. England. Outside of London.” She doesn’t bother to specify. Nobody in this neck of the woods has heard of her little town. 

“I thought so,” the woman says, with a little grin that hints at self-satisfaction. “I’ve always wanted to go to England. Go over the pond. Have a prop-a cuppa!” she adds in the worst imitation of a British accent Jamie’s ever heard. 

She can’t help but snicker. 

And then the woman is giggling at herself, blushing slightly. “My accent might need work.” 

Jamie smiles back, holds up her hand almost squeezing her thumb and forefinger together as she says, “Just a tad, yeah.” 

Jamie expects her to leave. Her initial curiosity must have been sated by now, she has other customers and a job to do, but, much to Jamie’s surprise, she doesn’t move to leave. Instead she pulls back the chair across from Jamie and says, “Do you mind?” 

“Don’t you have to, um…” Jamie gestures to the other patrons, though none of them are paying any attention to the two women in the corner. 

“They’ll holler if they need something,” the woman replies, sitting down without actually waiting for Jamie’s invitation. 

Jamie doesn’t comment. 

“So what brings you here? I mean...no, really. The midwest? I mean, England is so busy and sophisticated and exciting, but here it’s just…” her voice trails off, but her expression says plenty. 

Jamie doesn’t have the heart to tell her that England isn’t half as sophisticated and exciting as she’s imagining it to be. 

“Just...travelling.” It’s not a lie, but it’s far from the truth. 

Sharp blue eyes meet hers. There’s a suspicion in them, as if she knows that Jamie isn’t exactly being honest, but Jamie doesn’t owe her any honesty. She doesn’t even know her name. Still, the sense of intelligence she sees there is...appealing. 

“Yeah. I get that,” the woman finally replies. “I’d like to travel, too.”

For someone who so far has seemed vaguely nosy, she doesn’t pry further, and Jamie is appreciative of that. 

“Why don’t you?” Jamie asks on impulse. 

There’s the faint curve of a smile tugging at the corner of her lips and she raises an eyebrow at Jamie. “Just ‘cause you want something, doesn’t mean you always get it,” she replies. 

“Dani! Another round!” one of the men yells. 

“Coming right up!” she calls back, and then, with a polite, “Excuse me,” she’s gone, leaving Jamie to her beer and her thoughts. 

Thoughts that now include some mild curiosity about the beauty that, however briefly, just sat across from her. 

  
  


She really is pretty. 

Not that Jamie is staring or anything. There’s nothing wrong with a discreet look here and there, though, as she bustles around pouring pints and joking with the group of men. 

They’re regulars, clearly. They’d called her by name, after all. 

Dani. 

Jamie isn’t sure what name she was expecting, but it wasn’t that. Still, it fits this energetic blonde whose smile doesn’t quite seem to reach her eyes nine times out of ten. 

It’s about half an hour later, after she’s washed some glasses, made a few trips to the back, once more shouting at the invisible Eddie that is back there, and served several more drinks, that Jamie sees Dani approach again. 

She’s finished her beer, and really she only came for one, but when Dani says, “Can I get you a refill?” Jamie hears herself answer, “Please.” 

Dani flashes her smile, so broad, so beautiful, as she swipes the empty glass on the table and heads back to refill it. 

“Same again?” she calls from behind the bar. 

Her eyes lock on Jamie’s and Jamie feels uncomfortably seen, just for a split second, as Dani’s lips curl into a fainter smile than moments before. 

She nods, swallowing down a reply that would be far too flirty for the situation, for the place, for the night. 

When Dani sets the fresh pint down on the table, she once again takes the seat across from Jamie. “Game’s almost over and then those HOOLIGANS,” she shouts the word to a chorus of laughter and a loud whoop from the group of men, “will be heading out.”

The information feels relevant, but Jamie’s not sure why. Perhaps it’s an indication that she should finish up her second pint and head out. Perhaps it’s an invitation to stay and keep Dani company. She doesn’t want to assume either way, so she nods and files the information away. 

“Oh, what do I owe?” she asks, pulling her money back out, but Dani shakes her head. 

“This one’s on the house. Consider it my thanks for bringing some estrogen into this testosterone-filled joint tonight,” she replies with a laugh and a wink. 

Her lips are painted a dark pink, some long-lasting lipstick, Jamie is sure. In a quick flash she imagines the same color staining her jaw, her throat. 

She can fantasize, she supposes, as long as she doesn’t expect. She’s not crazy. What are the odds she’s stumbled across a queer lady bartender in this middle of noweher town in the midwest. The number of confederate flags she’s seen flying as she’s driven across the nearby area is a good indication of just how conservative the local politics are. 

“Thanks,” she mumbles, a touch too long after Dani’s statement, and Dani smirks, her eyes crinkling in the corners, an eyebrow raised in a challenge that Jamie is tempted to meet, but isn’t sure she should. 

“So, England, what’s your name?” 

Jamie lets out a small bark of laughter. “England. Obviously.”

Dani laughs and the sound is light and musical and Jamie finds herself leaning forward, elbows on the small round table, finger circling the top of her glass. She grins. 

“‘S Jamie, actually.” 

“Nice to meet you, Jamie. I’m Dani.” 

Jamie doesn’t say, “I know.” Instead she says, “Nice to meet you, Dani.” 

There’s a moment: Dani’s eyes hold steady on hers, something dancing in them, daring, bold, and Jamie doesn’t look away. 

But then the moment fades and Jamie is left with the heat from it coursing through her body with nowhere to go. She gulps at her pint to cool it. 

“Where are you heading next?” Dani asks. 

Jamie shrugs. “No real plan. Wherever the weather takes me.”

Dani laughs. “The snow won’t take you far. We’re due another six inches tomorrow.”

Jamie grimaces. “Really? Fuck. I hate driving in snow. Give me rain any day. I know how to handle rain.” 

“You mean you didn’t leave England to escape the perpetual drizzle?” 

Jamie laughs. Maybe Dani’s image of England is more accurate than she’d initially thought. “Well, the California sunshine is enticing.” 

Dani leans back and sighs. “I’ve always wanted to go to California.” 

“Well, you should come with me, Poppins. Run away from your exciting bartending life with the mysterious stranger who wanders into your bar.” She’s teasing, of course. And maybe it’s a little bit of flirting, but she can play it off like it’s not. 

Dani laughs again, and something curls low and hot in Jamie’s gut as she notes that her smile is indeed reaching her eyes now. Dani leans forward when she stops laughing, setting her own elbows on the small table, putting her chin on her clasped hands and studying Jamie. Her eyes dancing in the glow from the neon signs in the nearby window. 

“You’ve got room in your car for a passenger?” she asks, quirking up an eyebrow. 

Jamie’s answer of, “If she’s as pretty as you,” gets drowned out by loud cheers from the table of men. 

The faint blush on Dani’s cheeks suggests that she heard it anyway. 

  
  


The men do file out another fifteen minutes later, the laughter and smiles indicating a win for whatever team they were rooting for. 

Jamie can’t help but think,  _ I should go, _ but she can’t bring herself to stand, to shrug her coat back on, to leave Dani to her own devices until the bar closes. 

She has stuff to do, probably. She’s at work. But she’s still sitting across from Jamie, telling her stories of other nights spent in the same place. 

“This kid couldn’t have been more than like twelve. Marches right up to the bar, stands up as tall as he can and says, ‘A can of budweiser please’, in this squeaky little voice. So I say, ‘Can I see some I.D. sweetie?’ and of course the guys at the bar are laughing because we all know there’s no way he’s of age, but he pulls out this I.D. and it looks like it must be his older brother. Except his older brother isn’t even old enough to drink. He’s 18. Poor kid’s face turned bright red when I pointed that out.” 

Jamie laughs. “He was just in the wrong country, that’s all. You lot have it backwards. Learn to drive, then later you have to learn to handle your alcohol. By the time we get behind the wheel we know our tolerance. Doesn’t mean we always pay attention to it, mind, but we know it.” 

Dani considers this for a moment, then nods. “I suppose there’s a certain logic to that. Not that the age limit means kids don’t drink. I think I had my first beer at thirteen or so. Plenty of parties in fields, kegs set up in the back of someone’s pickup truck.”

“Fascinating. And did you go cow-tipping too?”

Dani laughs. 

“Would you believe that cows are incredibly hard to push over?” 

“Yes,” Jamie replies, echoing her laughter. “I would.” 

The moment settles between them, their eyes locked, smile curving at their lips, and ani bites hers, just a little. 

_ I should go _ , Jamie thinks again.

But she doesn’t. 

  
  


“I’m out!” a tall man with wire-rimmed circular glasses and dark curly hair emerges from the back with a wave. 

“See ya, Eddie!” Dani calls, not bothering to stand up from her seat across from Jamie.

Eddie takes them both in, his eyes scanning from one to the other, then he shrugs and heads back through the back. 

It feels like her cue to leave. She still doesn’t want to, but she thinks perhaps it’s time. “I should probably head out, too.”

The disappointment on Dani’s face brings a fresh wave of heat to Jamie’s body. “Oh,” Dani murmurs. 

“I don’t have to, I just...don’t want to keep you from being able to close or head home for the night.” 

“Oh!” The tone is different this time. “No, you don’t have to. You should...stay.”

There’s something in her eyes, a hopefulness, a sense of pleading. Jamie relaxes back into her chair. “Yeah. Okay.” 

  
  


They move to the bar. Jamie sits on one side while Dani finishes up some dishes on the other side. 

Jamie’s switched to water. Better for her wallet and her decision-making. The latter already feels impaired, but it has nothing to do with the beers she’s had and everything to do with the sway of Dani’s hips as she walks back and forth, tidying things here, wiping stuff down there. 

“I’m just gonna lock the front. Not that anyone ever comes around this late, but just in case. Don’t want to forget. You don’t have to go, though.”

There’s a hint, in the way she says it, in the smile she throws over her shoulder, in the way her eyes linger as she turns the lock, that makes Jamie think maybe, just maybe, her decision to get one drink here tonight was really quite a good one.

She’s not going to bank on it, though. 

They stack the chairs on the tables together. Dani insists she doesn’t have to help, but Jamie doesn’t mind. Especially not when Dani’s hand finds the back of hers, gives it a slight squeeze of thanks, leaving a lingering tingling sensation in its wake. 

“I should probably head back to my hotel for the night,” Jamie says when they’re done. “Let you get home.” 

“My apartment’s next door,” Dani replies. 

Jamie swallows hard. Is that...could it be…?

“Short commute,” she jokes. 

Dani steps towards her. “Yeah, it’s convenient.” 

Another step. 

Jamie’s body is buzzing now, every nerve ending on edge, waiting for something she’s not sure is even going to happen. 

“Stifling, too, sometimes,” Dani adds. 

Another step closer. She’s close enough that if Jamie reached out, her fingertips would brush against her now. 

Jamie leaves her hands in her pockets. 

“My whole world in two buildings right next to each other.”

Another step. Jamie can smell the vanilla of Dani’s perfume, can feel the hit of her breath vaguely on her face as she says, “In the same town I grew up in, with the same people.”

Jamie’s leaning in. Her whole body is hot and wanting, her fingers itching to reach out. She balls her hands into fists in her pockets. 

“And then tonight, in you walked, not stifling at all, a breath of fresh air.” 

Dani’s brave, Jamie thinks. So much bolder than she’d have expected. Because Dani reaches for her arm, lets her fingers travel down to Jamie’s wrist, tugging slightly until Jamie’s hand is out of her pocket and claiming Dani’s in her own. 

“You walked in and it felt like I could breathe for the first time in months,” Dani says, her voice barely above a whisper, her lips daringly close, her breath hot on Jamie’s mouth. 

Jamie leans in, closes her eyes, pulls on Dani’s hand to bring her closer. 

“Maybe years,” Dani admits against her lips. 

Jamie breathes her in: beer and vanilla and a hint of sweat. She breathes out and she kisses her hard. 

  
  


Dani’s apartment is small, but Jamie doesn’t bother asking for the grand tour. She doesn’t bother asking anything but, “Are you sure,” between frenzied kisses and wandering hands. 

“I’m sure,” is breathed into her mouth, swallowed by lips and tongue. 

Dani’s thumbs dig into the hollows of her hips, pin her to the wall. Dani’s mouth drags over her jaw, down her throat, across her collarbone. Her fingers deftly undo the buttons of her flannel and she shrugs it off, chest heaving. 

“Fuck,” she gasps, collapsing back against the wall, eyes trailing over Dani as she lifts her shirt over her head. 

Dani’s eyes lock on hers, dark and wanting as she reaches behind her and unclasps her bra. 

“Fuck,” Jamie murmurs again. Pretty just doesn’t cut it. Dani is stunning. All pale, smooth skin, toned muscles, small breasts with hardened nipples just inviting her to —

Dani moans when Jamie’s mouth closes around her nipple. They’re across the hall in a flash, Jamie pressing Dani into the wall now, fingers trailing along the waistband of Dani’s pants. 

“God, you’re sexy.” Jamie presses the words into the space between Dani’s breasts before claiming her other nipple as her own. “Didn’t think I’d find someone like you in a place like this.” 

“Someone like me?” Dani asks, hips jutting forward, her hands helping Jamie slide her jeans down over strong thighs. 

Jamie hadn’t really meant to admit anything, and she feels like she’s one step away from putting her foot in it. “Someone I could talk to all night,” she says. 

“Not someone gay?” Dani challenges, her eyes meeting Jamie’s with a raised eyebrow. 

Jamie grins, called out, caught. “That too.” 

  
  


Jamie kisses her way down smooth skin, her fingers brushing over goosebumps as she goes. She feels the gasps of Dani’s breaths, the tensing of her muscles, the excitement, the heat. 

She looks up at Dani from her knees, again making sure, asking permission, and all Dani can do is nod frantically. 

She hooks her fingers through Dani’s underwear and drags them down before kissing her way back up her legs. 

Dani’s trembling now, and Jamie —

Jamie’s hot all over, aching for a taste, eager to watch Dani unravel at her touch. She’s slept with beautiful women before but something about Dani catches her differently, cuts in deep after so little time spent together. She wants to undo her, but she wants to put her back together afterwards, too. 

Dani’s hands tangle in her hair, guide her to where she wants her. 

Jamie can’t resist a little teasing though. 

She leaves heavy, wet kisses lingering on Dani’s inner thighs, uses her hands to spread Dani’s legs wider, hooks one of Dani’s legs over her shoulder. 

Dani’s moaning already and she hasn’t even properly touched her yet, properly tasted her. 

“Please,” Dani gasps as Jamie lets her tongue trail up, stopping just short. “Please,” Dani repeats, her hips rocking forward. 

“Since you asked so nicely,” Jamie replies. 

Dani is a heady mixture of sweet and salty on her tongue and Jamie licks through her with heavy strokes. Dani’s fingers tighten in her hair instantly, holding her close as her hips come up to meet her. 

Jamie holds onto Dani’s hips, teasing at Dani’s clit with her tongue before licking through her again. 

She explores, learning what spots make Dani squirm, what movements make her moan. She can’t help the pleased grin that spreads across her face when Dani slams her head back against the wall and says, “Fuck! Yes! Right there! So good!” 

When Dani asks for more, Jamie willingly gives it, sliding first one then two fingers inside, curling them, feeling the way that Dani pulses around them. 

It’s a little awkward, a little exploratory as she learns Dani’s body, and then she finds her rhythm. Her wrist and her shoulder hurt from the angle but she doesn’t care as Dani starts to call out. It’s wild and desperate. Something to the effect of, “Don’t stop! Right there! Don’t fucking stop! I’m gonna —”

Dani rocks with her, meeting each thrust, fingernails digging into Jamie’s skull. Her whole body begins to tremble, her walls clenching around Jamie’s fingers, and she knows it won’t be long. 

She sucks on Dani’s clit, thrusts a little harder, a little deeper, and she hums, and that does it. 

Dani’s collapsing above her, a string of swears on her lips, her weight falling fully onto Jamie. 

And then, as she relaxes, unclenches from Jamie’s fingers, finds her own weight again, Jamie gets to her feet, kisses her way up. 

She presses a deep kiss to Dani’s lips, a shudder running through her when Dani moans, tasting herself. 

“Fuck, babe. That was — Can we do that again?” Dani asks, a smile on her lips that most definitely reaches her eyes. 

“All night long,” Jamie replies with a smirk. “I’ve got nowhere to be.” 

  
  


Dani gives as good as she gets. 

Jamie’s on her back, staring up into determined blue eyes, and Dani’s fingers —

Well, she certainly knows how to use them. 

Dani’s thumb brushes firmly against her clit and her fingers have found just the right angle so that she’s hitting —

“Fuck! Yes! Dani! Fuck!” 

Every thrust eliciting a gasp from Jamie’s lips. A swear. A new wave of pleasure. 

Dani’s teeth graze over her collarbone and she feels the chuckle there. 

“Didn’t expect someone here to be able to do this to you?” Dani teases against her skin. 

It’s been a while since Jamie’s hooked up with anyone on this trip. It’s been longer since she’s been this into it. And longer still since she’s thought —

“No,” she gasps. “Definitely not.” 

“Good,” Dani murmurs in her ear, sucks her earlobe into her mouth, tugs it with her teeth. 

She moves her attention back to Jamie’s chest, licks at Jamie’s nipples, hard and sensitive as they are. She speeds up, rocks into each thrust of her fingers with her body weight behind them, and —

It’s building. Already. Won’t be long now. 

“Fuck! Dani! Baby, please!”

There’s a moment where she freezes, tenses, the word that’s left her lips surprising even her, and Dani seems to react the same, but then her fingers are curling a little more, angling just so, and —

“Like this?” The breath is hot against Jamie’s wet nipple. 

“Yeah. Just like that. Don’t — Don’t stop! Don’t —”

It isn’t long at all. 

Wave after wave. Another spasm after she thinks she’s done because Dani moves her fingers just so, tugs at her nipple gently with her teeth. 

She’s breathless and spnt when Dani pulls out of her, cuddles up beside her, naked and exposed but making no move to cover up. 

“Did you mean it?” Dani asks. 

Jamie frowns, her mind still in that semi-blissed out post-orgasmic state. “What?” 

“When you said there was space in your passenger seat for someone as pretty as me.” 

Despite everything that they’ve just done, Jamie feels a blush of self-consciousness rising on her cheeks. “Fancy a road trip?”

“I fancy an escape.”

There’s an uncomfortable twinge in her chest. An escape. Is that all she is? “Ah.”

“With a beautiful woman,” Dani adds, fingers soothing a circular pattern over Jamie’s chest. 

“Oh?” 

“And maybe many more nights spent like this?” 

“Not just an escape, then?” 

“Not just with anyone,” Dani replies. “If there’s an offer of it, though…”

  
  


The snow clears enough to leave three days later. The old truck is more loaded up than when Jamie drove it into town. It groans a little as she starts it up. 

She’s gleaned a little of what Dani is running from. Shared some of what keeps her moving. There’s plenty still to discover, though. Plenty to share. 

She glances across the gearshift and is met by the brightest smile she’s ever seen. It reaches up into Dani’s eyes, glimmering with excitement. 

“Ready?” Jamie asks. 

Dani nods. “Let’s go.”

Maybe one drink can cause a bit of harm. Then again, maybe it can do a bit of good, too. 

  
  
  



End file.
